


I'm Not Alright (I'm Broken Inside)

by sofreakinmanyfandoms



Series: I'm Not Alright [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (Ish) - Freeform, Angst and Feels, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Civil War Fix-It, Emotional Hurt, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Tony Stark, Multi, Pre-Slash, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 11:41:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21409603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofreakinmanyfandoms/pseuds/sofreakinmanyfandoms
Summary: How would Siberia have ended if Tony had knocked Steve unconscious while he had the upper hand?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: I'm Not Alright [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543378
Comments: 9
Kudos: 233





	I'm Not Alright (I'm Broken Inside)

The anger and the pain prove to be too much. He knows Bucky’s a victim here, he _knows_ that, but all he can see is a hand around his mother’s neck, crushing the life from her. All he sees is his mom – whose love for him was one of very few bright spots through a childhood filled with more trauma than he cares to acknowledge – dead.

“You killed my mom.”

* * *

“_You can’t beat him hand-to-hand._”

“Analyze his fight patterns!”

“_Scanning… Countermeasures ready_.”

“Let’s kick his ass.”

He finally gets an advantage over Steve; Bucky’s down, and with FRIDAY proving highly accurate at predicting Steve’s movements, Tony finally doesn’t feel like he’s struggling to stay alive.

“He’s my friend,” Steve manages, trying to talk him down.

“So was I.”

One blow, one carefully calculated punch, is all it takes to knock Steve out. With nothing now between him and his target, Tony stalks over and wraps his gauntleted hand around the former Winter Soldier’s throat. He squeezes.

Bucky’s eyes open and he looks right at Tony, body going limp. _It’s okay_, his eyes say. _I deserve this_. _Do it_.

Tony can’t.

Damn it all, this man killed his mom… but it was Hydra’s fault. No matter how much he hates him, Tony can’t kill him. Maria wouldn’t have wanted that. Tony releases his hold on Bucky’s neck, and as Bucky gasps for breath, Tony lets the armor fall from his body and collapses in tears.

* * *

Steve comes to and finds Bucky and Tony wrapped around each other. Bucky’s got his arm over Tony’s shoulder; his remaining hand is buried in short, dark curls, and he keeps mumbling over and over how sorry he is. Tony… Tony is sobbing in a way Steve hasn’t heard since he last saw a widow informed of her husband’s death during World War II. It’s a haunting sound, loud and harsh and full of desperation for something that’s been lost and can never be recovered.

He stumbles to his feet and makes his way over to them, his best friends from different centuries. Sinking to the ground, he wraps his arms around them both and holds them as they cry.

_Maybe_, he thinks to himself,_ some day, we’ll all be okay_.


End file.
